15 Best Tottenham Hotspur Goals Since 2000

15 Best Tottenham Hotspur Goals Since 2000

One of the difficult things in debating and attempting to decide the best goal(s) in any given match, week, month, season, etc is the sheer number of options.

That is also part of the fun of course, but it does mean from time to time some deserving contenders will be overlooked.

The following list of the 15 "best" Tottenham Hotspur goals since 2000 is by no means definitive—how can something as subjective as what makes a great goal be so?

But considering it accounts for a time-span incorporating over 12 years of great goals from dozens of Tottenham players, the list certainly has some crackers on it.

To try and narrow the list slightly, the focus is more on the quality of the goal rather than the momentous nature of it.

In some cases they overlap, but it does mean that some big Spurs goals miss out (Paul Stalteri's winner against West Ham United from the 4-3 2006-07 classic for example, though that was the result of a good counter-attack) in favor of others.

There is a concession here to goals in which video is available to demonstrate their quality to give you all something to look at, but any suggestions and memories of others are very welcome.

Stephen Carr vs Sunderland (H), 14 May 2000

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Stephen Carr's long-range effort against Manchester United in 1999 is probably his most famous Tottenham goal, but this one against Sunderland is equally deserving of recognition.

The right-back had the freedom of the flank in front of him and proceeded to charge unchallenged all the way to the edge of the penalty box.

Carr's chip at this point was pure class, and for Spurs fans of a certain age will have brought back memories of the great Glenn Hoddle at his best.

Fredi Kanoute vs Everton (H), 4 October 2003

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Fredi Kanoute would go onto play his best football in Spain with Sevilla, but his quality was there to see often enough at Tottenham.

Exchanging headers with Gus Poyet, Kanoute proceeded to smash the ball on the bounce beyond the futile reach of Nigel Martyn.

Mbulelo Mabizela vs Leicester City (A), 18 October 2003

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Mbulelo Mabizela will not be a name recognized by many not affiliated to Tottenham—the South African's stay in the capital was a short and unsuccessful one.

But on one sunny Sunday afternoon in Leicester in 2003 he gave a glimpse of his talent on his debut in most emphatic style (go to 6:40 on the video).

A goal down to Leicester City, Spurs broke forward when the ball fell to Robbie Keane, the forward turning and finding Bobby Zamora's run to the left of the penalty area.

Zamora almost lost his footing but was able to control it and tee the ball up just outside the box for Mabizela who adjusted his run to meet the ball perfectly, rifling his shot into the roof of the net.

Jermain Defoe vs Blackburn Rovers (H), 8 May 2004

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This goal probably will not rank on many people's lists of great Tottenham goals from the last decade, but it deserves to be mentioned if only for the assist that created it (coming at 6:35 on the video).

Ledley King picked the ball up inside his own half and then, having taken the time to consider his options further forward, he picked out Jermain Defoe's run down the middle behind the Blackburn Rovers defense with the most exquisitely weighted pass.

Defoe's finish ain't too shabby either, blasting the ball into the roof of the net, but it is all about the pass.

Erik Edman vs. Liverpool (A), 16 April 2005

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The ephemeral nature of football ensures only a select few players (within the grander scale) are able to create genuine legacies for themselves.

Someone like Erik Edman, who was only at Tottenham for a solitary season (2004-05), will not be remembered for much at White Hart Lane.

But this goal will undoubtedly remain in the memories of Spurs supporters (and anyone else who saw it) for some time to come.

Tottenham's short corner ended up coming to Edman just outside of the centre-circle, where with yards of space beckoning in front of him the Swede controlled the ball and audaciously struck a screamer of a shot into the top corner.

Not many non-Liverpool players score at Anfield, so this is certainly one to cherish.

Robbie Keane vs Blackburn Rovers (H), 5 March 2006

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You get the feeling that had one of the Premier League's bigger names scored this goal it would be spoken of more frequently than it is.

Still, this was undoubtedly Robbie Keane at his best, flummoxing Blackburn Rovers marvelously in what was a tense contest in the run-in of the 2005/06 season.

Taking a throw-in from Mido, Keane lifted the ball over Robbie Savage before flicking it past Andy Todd and then firing it past current Spur Brad Friedel.

A combination of skill and awareness of the angles he was working, it was a wonderful goal.

Aaron Lennon vs Chelsea (H), 5 November 2006

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Khalid Boulahrouz probably is not so mired in the past, but if there was one goal to give the former Chelsea defender nightmares it is this one.

Robbie Keane cheekily offered him the ball on the halfway line before surging forwards with the Dutchman still in tow.

Keane then teased him with a step-over before a sudden shift right and then back left again had Boulahrouz on his backside, allowing the Tottenham striker to cross.

His cross was headed into the path of Aaron Lennon, who took the ball, composed himself and stepped inside, calmly firing past Petr Cech to give Spurs a long sought after league win against Chelsea.

Dimitar Berbatov vs West Ham United (A), 4 March 2007

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Sheer class from Dimitar Berbatov, the Bulgarian stepping up to place a perfectly executed free-kick into the top-corner on the way to Tottenham's thrilling comeback in a 4-3 win over the relegation-threatened Hammers.

Dimitar Berbatov vs Charlton Athletic (A), 7 May 2007

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Dimitar Berbatov scored some beautiful goals in his time at Tottenham, three of which are shown in the above video.

It is the second of those, which the Bulgarian describes from the one-minute mark, that gets the nod here.

Away at Charlton Athletic, Ledley King spotted his teammate positioned just off the halfway line and picked him out with a precision pass.

Rather than control it there, Berbatov proceeded to pull off a deftly sensational bit of skill in flicking the ball past Talal El Karkouri, outrunning his opponent into the box and slot his effort past the approaching Scott Carson.

Robbie Keane vs Chelsea (H), 18 March 2008

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A game-saving equalizer against London rivals Chelsea is always going to have some value for Spurs fans, but when it is as good as this one it will live long in the memory.

A long ball forward fortuitously bounced off the back of Ricardo Carvalho where a hovering Robbie Keane took hold of it, glanced goalwards and proceeded to launch a rocket into the top corner.

David Bentley vs Arsenal (A), 29 October 2008

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This was not Manuel Almunia's finest moment as a goalkeeper, but to criticize him for being caught off his line would be to detract from the audacity David Bentley showed in testing the Spaniard from so far out.

Most players would not think about shooting from such a distance, but Bentley caught sight of the space behind Almunia and when he was able to tee it up for himself just right, he showed the courage in a big game to take a chance.

Although Almunia got a hand to it, the way Bentley measured it just right was a superb split-second judgement.

Danny Rose vs Arsenal (H), 17 April 2010

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That this goal opened the scoring in a north London derby Tottenham would go onto win has ensured this strike has retained a special place in White Hart Lane folklore, but on its own merits it was a darn fine finish.

Manuel Almunia's attempted clearance did not fall straight to Danny Rose, he had to time his run just right to connect with the ball as it dropped.

He did so with impeccable technique, striking the ball as sweetly as a volley can be to put it just over the all-at-sea Spanish goalkeeper's head.

Roman Pavlyuchenko vs Rubin Kazan (H), 20 October 2011

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When you think about the amount of free-kicks Tottenham have fluffed on a weekly basis in recent years, this beauty from Roman Pavlyuchenko against his compatriots should be all the more revered.

The Russian picked his target and proceeded to strike the ball with such perfectly-placed venom into the top-corner that Sergei Ryzhikov never stood a chance.

Gareth Bale vs Manchester United (A), 29 September 2012

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Gareth Bale has scored some terrific goals in recent seasons, many of which you could make a case for inclusion here.

It is one from this current campaign that makes this list though, highlighting as it did his own tremendous ability, but also an example of Tottenham at their counter-attacking best.

Away at Manchester United, Sandro won the ball deep in the Spurs half and quickly fed it to Mousa Dembele.

The Belgian charged forward and placed the ball into Bale's path as he made the run across him.

The Welsh winger took the ball in his stride and proceeded to race into the United penalty box with Rio Ferdinand attempting to keep up, judging the angle just right to fire past Anders Lindegaard into the bottom corner.

Jermain Defoe vs West Ham United (H), 24 November 2012

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There has been a great variety to Jermain Defoe's goals throughout his career, but one of the common themes has been the conviction with which he has dispatched so many of them.

His goal against West Ham earlier this season was finished in a typically clinical fashion, yet it is the build-up that makes it stand out.

Receiving the ball on the touchline, Defoe outfoxed George McCartney and Winston Reid and surged towards the Hammers' box, skipping past Mark Noble before getting his shot away.

It was a moment of individual brilliance from the England international, arguably unmatched in his Tottenham career.